Factor, a packaged meal delivery service, recently donated five refrigerated vans to food pantries operating in and around Aurora.
The five vans, which were filled with Factor meals also donated by the company, were officially handed over at a ceremony held Wednesday at the company’s facility at 2372 W. Indian Trail in Aurora.
Late last year, company officials pledged during a press conference in Aurora to donate 10 refrigerated vans to food pantries over the course of 2025.
“This generous donation from Factor is a game-changer for our local food banks and for families in need,” Aurora Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, said at Wednesday’s ceremony. “This isn’t just about transportation, it’s about ensuring no one in our community goes hungry.”
The vans were given to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry, Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, Loaves & Fishes Community Services and Kendall County Food Pantry.
Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry Executive Director Annette Johnson told The Beacon-News after the ceremony that Factor is a great community partner to the pantry — not only because of the donation of the refrigerated truck, which was set to go deliver food the same afternoon it was donated, but also because the company donates 3,000 meals each week to the organization.
“There has never been a better community partner than Factor,” she said.
A vehicle is a huge donation, Mike Keane, director of programs at the Northern Illinois Food Bank, said after the ceremony. The new refrigerated van will allow the organization to be versatile in getting meals to those in need, he said, in the most timely and fresh way possible.
It is a core belief of Factor that everyone deserves access to healthy and nutritious meals, according to Dan Seidel, chief operating officer of HelloFresh North America, which is Factor’s parent company.
He said during Wednesday’s ceremony that this core belief is behind Factor’s Fuel for Change initiative, through which the company has donated more than 2 million meals to food pantries like those represented at the ceremony. Late last year, Factor celebrated a milestone of one million meals donated to the Aurora community during a similar ceremony.
Although meaningful progress has been made in fighting food insecurity, the challenge is “only deepening,” Seidel said. In Illinois, one in eight people face food insecurity, meaning they do not have reliable access to nutritious food needed for healthy lifestyles, he said.
Tackling the problem requires a commitment from “every corner of society,” Seidel said, and “only through collaboration can we build a future where everyone has access to healthy, nourishing food.”
Aurora Deputy Mayor Casildo “Casey” Cuevas, speaking during the ceremony, thanked Factor and all the food pantries for the work they do.
He has a special place in his heart for this issue, he said, because he has personally worked to combat food insecurity in Aurora, which he called a growing problem. The donation of these vans “really means a lot” because it means food will get to those who need it in the community, and he has personally seen the blessings that come from delivering food, he said.
Aurora Deputy Chief of Staff Nicholas Richard-Thompson said during the ceremony that communities are seeing an increase in economic pressures like food insecurity because of what’s happening at the federal level. So, he said collective action and cooperation are needed now more than ever, and he commended Factor for stepping up to partner with community organizations.
During his own speech, Franco called Factor “one of our most generous and benevolent local businesses” and said that, since locating here a few years back, have “stepped up as a significant community partner contributing to many of our local not-for profits, helping them to provide for our residents.”
rsmith@chicagotribune.com